


When We Crashed

by arimi_skywalker



Category: Arashi (Band), Johnny's Entertainment
Genre: Airplane Crashes, Airplanes, Drama & Romance, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Survival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2018-11-03 12:50:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10967598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arimi_skywalker/pseuds/arimi_skywalker
Summary: Five people take the same flight...





	1. Turbulences

**Author's Note:**

  * For [devil29bich](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=devil29bich).



> **Author:** [](http://arimi-skywalker.livejournal.com/profile)[**arimi_skywalker**](http://arimi-skywalker.livejournal.com/) ([sutekihanashi](https://twitter.com/sutekihanashi))  
>  Disclaimer: fanFICTION (extra emphasis on the fiction). None of this is based in anything even resembling fact except for, like, their names. Do not know, don't presume to know. Not owning. Not meant to offend. Just fangirling.  
> A/N: Thanks to my dear 'Sho-chan' for checking and correcting this text for me. I suck at expressing myself in english ^^;;
> 
> _If you like this, you're welcome to check out my other fics :)_
> 
> This is the last request I'm writing for now. I'm very sorry D:

**OHNO**  
  
The sun was shining on that June afternoon.  
  
It was Sunday, and I was dying to reach home. I spent the whole weekend for a congress in Kyoto, introducing the latest innovations in my company and gathering information about the innovations of the competition. My feet hurt from standing on them for hours, my throat was sore from talking so much in just a couple of days, and my stomach was blown due to the heavy meals with customers and dealers.  
  
Fortunately, soon I would be back in Tokyo.  
  
In my company, every staff who worked during weekends had the right to take Monday off. We only needed to send a detailed report to our superior with all the information about the event we covered, and the rest of the time was ours. I made the most of the very few and brief free moments I had here and there during the congress to write my report, so I was only missing the last few details, which I was planning to complete during the one hour flight. When I reached Tokyo, I would schedule my e-mail account to automatically send the report to my boss first thing on Monday morning, and I would be free.  
  
  
**AIBA**  
  
Kyoto is a beautiful city.  
  
I have a cousin who lives there. He met a girl from Kyoto (Chiaki, the loveliest woman I've ever met), and moved there even before marrying her. His parents were against him living with his girlfriend without marrying her first, but my cousin said he couldn't spend longer away from her. Now, they have two children: my nephew Rui and my niece Rena. They're the most beautiful children I've ever seen. They're always smiling, cheerful, and full of energy. My cousin always says they remind him of me.  
  
I wish I were as cute as they are.  
  
Whenever I can, I always do a weekend trip to visit them. Chiaki is a wonderful host, and my cousin always has some nihonshu bottle he bought thinking about drinking it together with me. The kids make me colorful draws, show me their progress in school, and always drag me along to play with their neighbor's dog, a beautiful Shiba Inu named Kokoa.  
  
However, Sundays in Kyoto are a little bittersweet for me. I have to say goodbye to my cousin's wonderful family, and to the beautiful city where they live. I know I will be back. The moment I have the chance to do it. But I can't help feeling a small sting in my heart as I ride a train or an airplane back to Tokyo.  
  
I especially regretted going back that summer afternoon.  
  
As I queued to board the plane, I thought about how much I would like to spend that afternoon with Rena and Rui, eating dango by Kamo River's shore, and I remembered the promise I made to them before leaving; I would take them to Arashiyama to enjoy a boat ride, and see the bamboo grooves while we ate all the dango in the area during my next visit.  
  
  
**NINO**  
  
And that's how my holidays came to an end.  
  
Back to the big city. Back to my routine. Back to my boring job.  
  
On the next day, I would wake up in my small apartment in the outskirts of Tokyo. I would ride two trains, taking almost an hour to reach my office, and there, I would become a robot again. It's not that I didn't like my job. Actually, I was passionate about it, but my office wasn't my favorite place. It wasn't located in a skyscraper in the city center, but in one of the smallest buildings in a kind of isolated area, which didn't have good views or enough light. Besides, my workspace was small and it was in the inner part of the building, which made it one of the darkest spaces. It was impossible to work there without any artificial light. With the years, I got used to be there every day, but after some short holidays in Chuugoku and Kansai, I felt like it was hard to be shut in again.  
  
The only good thing was that I would have time for my videogames again.  
  
I wanted to make the most of the money I invested in my holidays, so I decided to leave my portable console in Tokyo to avoid the temptation of staying at the hotel playing games the whole day. And I had missed it so much. She was my loyal partner during the hot summer nights, the cold winter weekends, and the eternal lunchbreaks at the office.  
  
Did people really need a whole hour for lunch?  
  
Ten minutes were enough to me.  
  
Besides, who needs food when you have Mario?  
  
That afternoon, I missed my console terribly. I had been waiting at the airport for more than an hour, then I spent twenty minutes at the boarding queue, and now I was sitting next to a stranger for another long hour, until we landed in Tokyo. I regretted more than ever thinking I could survive without videogames during my holidays, since they were just five day.  
  
Now I knew it was more than enough to make me want to reach home.  
  
Even when it meant going back to the boring routine.  
  
  
**JUN**  
  
I almost missed that flight to Tokyo.  
  
I ran through the airport, avoiding people as I could. I almost bumped into a family man, who pulled a big suitcase as he tried to make his child stop crying. Then I almost knocked down a woman who walked looking down at her cellphone. When I reached the security check, I approached the officer and told him I would miss my flight if I waited the long queue. At first, he didn't look as if he was willing to help me, but after insisting a little and offering my free services if he ever needed them, he let me in. I didn't have any suitcase. Just my work briefcase, since I only traveled to represent my customer in a trial. In less than five minutes I was running through the airport again.  
  
Finally heading to my boarding gate this time.  
  
I quickly checked my watch, without stopping: fifteen minutes left to take off. I believed the other passengers were already inside the plane, and the crew would be about to close the gates. I ran as fast as I could, thinking that if I happened to bump into someone at the moment I wouldn't have the time to stop, and it'd be a real mess. I prayed to all the stars and gods to prevent it, as I could already see my boarding gate.  
  
Just a little bit longer.  
  
When I reached the gate, out of breath, and handed my boarding pass to the staff person, she smiled and said I didn't need to run anymore; I made it on time, so I could relax. That woman didn't know what she was talking about. I almost missed that flight because the trial took me a little longer than expected, and I had to go straight to the airport, without eating anything since eleven in the morning. I would have to be content with the small snack they give on board to calm my stomach until I reached Tokyo, as I made the most of the one hour flight to finish the defense of a man that messed up really badly with his ex-wife.  
  
The verb 'relax' didn't exist among my vocabulary.  
  
  
**SHO**  
  
That guy was getting me on my nerves.  
  
He walked stuck to me, as if he were my shadow, and now that we were finally seated he wouldn't stop staring at me. I pretended to fall asleep the moment we took off. I didn't even wait for the cabin crew to finish giving the safety instructions in case of accident. I closed my eyes, and turned my back to my companion, hoping that not seeing him helped me, even when I knew very well that he was still there. Next to me. Watching me.  
  
What a loser.  
  
Only losers ended up like him; escorting people like me.  
  
I didn't open my eyes until a flight attendant walked by pulling her snack cart. I didn't have something good in a long time, even when it was just a cracker with a glass of soda. The guy who was next to me ordered a beer. Could he drink while being on duty? Probably, not. He didn't seem to care at all about someone spotting him, though.  
  
Of course.  
  
He didn't have anything to lose.  
  
No one in that plane knew who I was, even less they knew that guy was working. On one hand, I appreciated it. I preferred not to draw attention, and go as unnoticed as possible. On the other hand, I would like someone realized that guy was drinking alcohol on working hours, and it reached his boss' ears. Though, thinking about it, probably his boss didn't even know his name. It's the thing about losers: they're so useless that their own bosses call them by a common name to try to hide the fact that they don't even remember their real name.  
  
As I munched the cracker, that tasted like the most delicious steak to me, the plane jumped, spilling half of my drink. The first drink I had in years, and I had to lose half of it thanks to a badly-timed turbulence. I frowned, and took the glass to my lips, just in case we jumped again. I hardly got the chance to take the small plastic container to my mouth to taste its content, when the lights went out.  
  
The whole plane stifled a scream.  
  
  
**NINO**  
  
I couldn't believe it.  
  
I didn't order any drink or snack, but I was drenched in orange juice. The man next to me was startled by a little turbulence. He accidentally hit the foldable tray with his knees, and his glass flew, landing on me. He was still apologizing when the lights went out.  
  
The man jumped again.  
  
I looked up, surprised.  
  
Maybe they had turned them off as a prevention.  
  
  
**JUN**  
  
Recently, I traveled a lot.  
  
Due to my job, I didn't have any other option than constantly taking planes and trains. It wasn't always like that. There was a time, when I was young, when my job only covered Tokyo and its surroundings. I didn't even have enough work to cover a week, but everything changed after I won a case that was featured in national television. Ever since then, my customers multiplied, and my work multiplied as well. Now, I spent a lot of time outside my hometown, but in none of my trips had the lights suddenly went out.  
  
I wanted to call the flight attendant to ask if everything was okay. However, when I tried to reach the button and press it, the plane started shaking so violently that I had to hold to the armrest. The woman next to me screamed. The oxygen masks fell down from the ceiling, and people started to stand up and run through the corridors, out of control.  
  
  
**OHNO**  
  
Someone's elbow hit my temple.  
  
With shaking hands, I tried to reach the oxygen mask, as the staff taught us. Everything was chaos and darkness around me. People ran, screamed, cried. I couldn't move. I was so scared that I couldn't think of anything. I only put that mask on my mouth, and squeezed my eyes.  
  
Maybe it was just a bad dream.  
  
  
**SHO**  
  
I should've paid attention to the flight attendant's safety instructions.  
  
  
**AIBA**  
  
Rui. Rena.  
  
Sorry for not being able to keep my promise.


	2. Survive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Author:** [](http://arimi-skywalker.livejournal.com/profile)[**arimi_skywalker**](http://arimi-skywalker.livejournal.com/) ([sutekihanashi](https://twitter.com/sutekihanashi))  
>  Disclaimer: fanFICTION (extra emphasis on the fiction). None of this is based in anything even resembling fact except for, like, their names. Do not know, don't presume to know. Not owning. Not meant to offend. Just fangirling.  
> A/N: Thanks to my dear 'Sho-chan' for checking and correcting this text for me. I suck at expressing myself in english ^^;;
> 
> _If you like this, you're welcome to check out my other fics :)_

**OHNO**

I slowly opened my eyes.

Every part of my body ached as if I'd been beat to a pulp, and I felt heavy, as if I had something really heavy on me. I rubbed my eyes, trying to ease the pain the sunlight caused on them, and I blinked several times. My head ached as if it was about to explode, and my temple itched. When I scratched it, I discovered it was covered by a viscous liquid that tinged my fingers with an intense maroon color.

Blood.

I tried to move, but I couldn't. I actually had something really heavy on me: an airplane seat that didn't allow me to move. Fortunately, it fell on me in the shape of a tent, so that my body was set under it. The armrests were squashing my chest and abdomen, causing an unbearable pressure, and for a moment there I was even afraid to breathe. I saw it in uncountable movies before. People suffered from internal bleeding, impossible to see at first sight, and when someone who was willing to help made the mistake of moving aside the object that kept them prisoner, they bled to death.

I didn't want to die.

I still had a lot of things to do. Many things to see. Many places to travel to. I didn't even have a good position in my company. I still wanted to be promoted and get a better salary that allowed me to do all those things I still wanted to do, and see all those places I still wanted to see. I was too young to die.

"ARE YOU OKAAAAAAAAY?!"

When tears were starting to appear in my eyes, I heard a distant voice. Thereupon, I heard steps rushing to me. I turned my head, and soon I could glimpse a figure that kneeled down to the ground and leaned over me. It was a man. A man bleached platinum blonde. Some bangs hung over his forehead, but the rest of his hair was still slicked back. He had a scratch on his right cheek, surrounded by a dark bruise that didn't look good, and a trail of dried blood ran down to his jawline. He was frowning as he watched me carefully.

"Are you okay?" he said again, placing his hand on my forehead.

I nodded slowly.

"I'm really thirsty," I replied, breathing heavily. "And the pressure on my abdomen is killing me."

He took a glance at the seat that didn't allow me to breathe normally.

"I think I can help you," he said, without looking back at me.

He turned to the seat and tried to move it with his hands, but I immediately grabbed his wrist and stopped him. I didn't want to end up like those people in the movies. The man looked at me, bewildered.

"I don't want to die," I whispered.

"You aren't going to die," he claimed. "I'm going to help you."

He tried to move the seat again, but I stopped him once again.

"If you move it, I may die."

He watched me in silence, frowning, during what it felt like several minutes. Then, he slipped his hand under the seat, and touched my abdomen and chest. He pressed my body in different points until he finally moved his hand away, wearing a content expression.

"You'll be fine," he said, taking the seat with his two hands again.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I'm a doctor," it looked like he wasn't even paying attention to me as he crouched and strained with effort to lift the seat.

He made it roll to my right, and shook his hands when he finished. He let out a long sigh, and looked down at me, offering his hand. I hesitated for a few seconds. I stared at him, and decided to accept his help in the end, but a sharp pain on my shoulder forced me to put down my arm the moment I tried to lift it.

He frowned again.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"My shoulder," I hissed, clenching my teeth as I pressed it, trying to stop the pain. "It hurts a lot."

That man kneeled down next to me again, and stared at the dried blood that went down my arm. The trail disappeared under the sleeve of my white shirt, now darkened by the dirt. He started to undo the buttons and opened it, exposing my shoulder, where we could see a wound that looked really ugly.

He clicked his tongue.

"What are you doing?" I demanded to know.

"I told you I'm a doctor," he said, carefully watching my wound. "This looks really bad, but if we find some water to clean it, I think it won't be a problem."

He buttoned my shirt again, and held the arm I didn't have injured. I frowned, but allowed him to pull me along. As he helped me to stand up, I could see some kind of drawing sticking out the sleeve of his threadbare t-shirt. I couldn't differentiate the shape, but I could tell it was too colorful to be dirt.

A tattoo.

"See?" he asked, drawing back my attention. "You're still alive."

"Thank you..."

The man smiled.

"I'm..." he stopped and half-closed his eyes in a pensive gesture. "Tsukamoto. Tsukamoto Sho."

"Ohno Satoshi," I introduced myself, slightly bowing my head.

"Fine, Ohno. Follow me," he ordered in a gentle tone as he started walking. "I'll introduce you to the others."

 

**NINO**

The damn ankle was getting swollen.

I leaned on a rock and lifted the leg of my ruined trousers; it wasn't only getting swollen, but it was turning into a blackish bluish color that I didn't like at all. I clicked my tongue and winced as I rubbed it.

"Does it hurt?"

A guy of rounded dark eyes that introduced himself as Aiba Masaki looked at me with a sad face, sitting on the ground in lotus position, as if the ankle were his. I shrugged, as a sign of resignation, while I kept rubbing the aching area.

"It's getting swollen," I replied.

"We should look for some water," Aiba said, wearing a worried expression. "We're all thirsty, and I think some fresh water would do your ankle good."

He had a long deep scratch on his right forearm that was still bleeding, and it looked like he had a broken rib; every time he tried to bend or sit down, he hissed under his breath. Even so, he showed a smile and a positive attitude all the time.

"I can't move," pointed out the man with long lashes that had introduced himself as Matsumoto Jun. "I think my leg is broken."

He was very attractive.  
Even sitting under that tree, with his back leaning against the trunk, covered in sweat and breathing heavily, he was still very handsome. His features were very appealing and there was a natural elegance in all his movements, despite the awful situation we were living.

"I can go," Aiba offered. "I'm fine."

I was about to say it wasn't a good idea that he wandered around by himself, since we didn't know is he was really okay. The sensible thing to do was staying together and wait for someone to rescue us, but I didn't have the chance to say anything because we saw Tsukamoto coming back in the distance.

And he didn't come alone.

 

**JUN**

"Look! It's Sho! And he found someone!" Aiba exclaimed, jumping up, immediately wincing.

When the two men were close to the shady area we found under that big tree, Tsukamoto waved and I think I even saw a half smile on his face. Aiba waved back vigorously, though he put his arm down right away and grabbed his side.

"Hey, guys," said Tsukamoto when he finally reached us. "Good news; I found another survivor."

Aiba couldn't hold back, and happily approached the man that came with Tsukamoto, jumping to hug him effusively. Both men grimaced, getting a chuckle from Tsukamoto and a funny face from Ninomiya.

"Sorry," Aiba apologized, looking ashamed. "I'm Aiba Masaki, and these are Ninomiya Kazunari and Matsumoto Jun," he introduced us, pointing in our direction as he said our names. "I'm so glad Sho insisted on going back to the crash site."

The eyes of the man widened in surprise.

"What crash?" he asked, confused.

Everyone was silent.

Since we met, we didn't bring up the topic.

 

**AIBA**

None of us wanted to talk.

None of us wanted to remember.

I looked at that guy who just arrived with Sho, and smiled.

"Welcome to our group!" I greeted him. "What's your name?"

"I'm Ohno Satoshi," he bowed.

"Welcome, Ohno Satoshi," I said again, holding his hand, pulling him along with me to our shady area. "We were thinking about looking for some water to refresh ourselves and clean our wounds."

"I got a nasty wound on my shoulder; Tsukamoto-san said it'd be good to clean it," he told us. "We're lucky there's a doctor among us, right?"

"Doctor?" I glanced at Nino and Jun, who looked just as surprised as myself. "Why didn't you tell us you're a doctor?" I asked Sho.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking away. "All this situation is overwhelming," he looked at us, one by one, until he fixed his eyes on me. "Let's go look for some water?"

"Let's go!" I exclaimed right away, already on my way.

Sho chuckled as he followed me through the underbrush.

 

**SHO**

Tsukamoto Sho.

I thought about giving a made-up name, but I knew it'd be easier to find out my lie if they called me by my assumed named and I didn't reply. If at least I kept my real first name, the situation would be easier to handle.

"Sho!" Aiba's voice caught my attention. "Come here! I think I found something."

A few meters ahead of me, the man waved his hand, motioning me to join him. As I approached him, I thought I heard the sound of water flowing. However, I couldn't see anything but waste ground and underbrush around me.

"It's over here. Come," my companion pointed out. "Maybe it's a little far away, but look: There's a lot of shade down there!"

When I looked to the front, I couldn't believe my eyes; a stream of almost transparent water ran among the weeds, and there were several trees by its shore, some of them big and leafy enough to give shelter to a group of twenty people. Besides, it wasn't that far away from our starting point. If we couldn't spot it earlier, it was because of the change of slope that hid the place behind a small hill.

"Oh my God..." I whispered, open-mouthed.

Aiba looked at me with a beaming smile on his face.

"Let's go tell the others!" he exclaimed, already on his way back.

We went back to the small shade where we left Ninomiya, Matsumoto and Ohno minutes before, and told them about what Aiba found. They insisted on the four of us helping Matsumoto to walk there, but I refused to accept their help. I was the only one who didn't seem to have any part of my body broken.

When we reached our new paradise, I left Matsumoto by the shore, so that he could drink and wash himself a little bit. Ninomiya rushed to soak his ankle and sighed in relief due to the refreshing feeling, while Aiba washed his face. I bent down and washed my hands, with the intention of getting rid of the dried blood on my face and clean that wound on my cheek a little bit. At that moment, Ohno approached me with a wet piece of cloth. He stared at me for a few seconds and reached out, gently placing the cloth on my wound. I hissed and instinctively moved away.

If hurt as if he slapped me.

"Sorry," he apologized.

I shook my head, and he placed the cloth on my wound again.

I winced, but didn't move this time.

"Thank you for finding me," he gently said. "If I were to be alone, under that seat, I think I would've ended up going crazy."

I nodded, feeling kind of awkward because he was too close.

"I'm glad I went back to check if there was someone alive," I grabbed the piece of cloth from him, and continued cleaning the wound by myself. "We are lucky."

"Yeah..." Ohno made a sad face.

"You should clean your wound," I advised him. "It doesn't look good."

Ohno nodded, and it looked like he was about to say something when Aiba approached us, almost jumping joyfully.

"Nino says that maybe there are some fruit on these trees," he told us with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "And Jun says we could go back to the area where the remainders of the airplane are; maybe we can find some clothes or food."

"Sounds good," I replied, soaking the piece of cloth to place it on my cheek again. "Maybe we can go there before the night falls. It'd be good to have some warm clothing to spend the night."

Aiba and Ohno nodded, and volunteered right away.

Despite the incessant pain on my cheek, I smiled.

Those guys were good people, and the bad experience made us bond faster than usual. The longer I spent with them, the less I liked to lie. But, what could I do? I definitely didn't want to go back to that place.

I'd have to lie for the rest of my life.


	3. Bond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Author:** [](http://arimi-skywalker.livejournal.com/profile)[**arimi_skywalker**](http://arimi-skywalker.livejournal.com/) ([sutekihanashi](https://twitter.com/sutekihanashi))  
>  Disclaimer: fanFICTION (extra emphasis on the fiction). None of this is based in anything even resembling fact except for, like, their names. Do not know, don't presume to know. Not owning. Not meant to offend. Just fangirling.  
> A/N: Thanks to my dear 'Sho-chan' for checking and correcting this text for me. I suck at expressing myself in english ^^;;
> 
> _If you like this, you're welcome to check out my other fics :)_

**JUN**  
  
I didn't know how long we'd been there.  
  
We were running out of the few supplies we found among the crash remainders. We were starving, exhausted, sore and wasted away. We had a few blankets we used to wrap our bodies up during the long nights, curling up against each other, sticking our bodies as much as we could to warm up one another, but nothing seemed to be enough to help us sleeping.  
  
The day we heard that sound, we thought we were dreaming.  
  
It stormed through the air little by little. At first, it sounded far away, but it got closer and closer. We all stood up immediately, and started to yell and wave our arms or whatever we had around; the blankets, the life vests, Ohno even took his shirt off and waved it in the air as if it was a war flag. A helicopter was flying over our area, and someone on it spotted us. They motioned the pilot to land, and we rushed to meet them.  
  
My leg was poorly healed and it hurt when I walked too fast, but I didn't care at the moment. I ran as fast as I could, and clang to that uniformed man as if my life depended on him. Maybe I was aware that my life really depended on that person. He calmed us down and handed us five blankets we appreciated, despite the sun shining up above.  
  
Our bodies were so exhausted that not even the sun could warm our bones anymore.  
  
  
**AIBA**  
  
Twelve days.  
  
It was the amount of days that man said we'd been lost. The accident had been so violent that the airplane shattered into several pieces, and the rescue parties spent all those days checking the area surrounding every piece they found. Apparently, we were lucky enough to be in the back of the plane, the only part that remained together after the crash, and that saved our lives.  
  
No one else survived.  
  
Just the five of us.  
  
Our hearts sank as we heard the news. Still in shock, we rode the helicopter helped by that man and tried to eat the onigiri they gave us, but I think we were too overwhelmed as to even have a bite. Suddenly, reality hit all of us, making the silence reign.  
  
Everyone else had died.  
  
  
**NINO**  
  
I looked at the others as we were flying.  
  
Aiba-chan didn't wince anymore when he stood up, but Ohno still couldn't move his right arm away from his body, and Jun limped. My ankle was of a moss green color now, and it hardly hurt, but I didn't feel better than on the day we crashed. Physically, I was exhausted and sore, but the need to cry and scream until losing my voice was even worse.  
  
As we flew to Tokyo, I thought it wasn't fair all those people died. I felt thankful for being alive, but everything was so confusing; if I were seated in a different place, probably I wouldn't be on that helicopter with those four men, who had become an essential part of my life. We felt so wretched and defenseless during all those days in the middle of nowhere that now we felt as if we'd known each other all our lives. We took shelter in each other's pain; we understood it and shared it to the point of making it ours, establishing a strong bond.  
  
However, now I wondered if I had the right to feel like that.  
  
The rest of passengers in that plane didn't have the chance to feel wretched or defenseless. They couldn't share their pain with anyone, and didn't have the chance to understand other people's pain. Simply, they didn't have any chance. They disappeared in just a matter of minutes, and I didn't even stop to think about them until we were told no one else survived.  
  
It was so unfair.  
  
"We'll arrive soon," announced the man dressed up as a soldier who rescued us, bringing me back to reality. "We're taking all of you to a hospital to have a medical checkup, and so that you can recover."  
  
None of us said anything.  
  
We just nodded in silence.  
  
The man made a bittersweet face, and sighed.  
  
"You don't have to worry," he tried to cheer us up. "You're out of danger now."  
  
As if that could comfort us.  
  
Our hearts were shattered into a million pieces, and maybe they'd never heal.  
  
  
**SHO**  
  
Time passed so fast that I hardly realized it.  
  
Since we were rescued and back in Tokyo, I was hospitalized for a week. They took care of my wounds and blows, verified I didn't have any disease, fed me, and then, I was discharged. My four friends were in the same hospital, on the same floor, and we were in contact during the whole week. I was the first one to leave, but we thought Nino wouldn't take long to go home. Aiba, Jun and Ohno probably would have to stay a little longer; Aiba's ribs were recovering, but his body had to be immobilized with a thick bandage, Jun's leg didn't heal well after the crash and he had to have it broken again in order to heal properly, and Ohno had to undergo a surgery because his shoulder was smashed.  
  
The first thing I did when I left the hospital was visiting my apartment, and place a few basic things into a small backpack: a couple of t-shirts and pants, underwear and some money. I tried to avoid leaving any hint that could tell anyone I've been there, and left quickly, trying to act normally but at the same time watching nothing suspicious happened around me. Then, I looked for the closest public phone and called a longtime acquaintance.  
  
"Hiro," I said the moment he answered. "It's Sho. I need your help to get identification under the name Tsukamoto Sho. It's a long story. I'll tell you tonight."  
  
  
**OHNO**  
  
I could only see the building across the street through my window.  
  
Sho, Nino and Aiba had been discharged, and Jun spent half of the day sleeping due to the painkillers he was taking. At least, he didn't have his leg raised anymore and the plaster only reached his knee now. He could move around and come to visit me if he felt like it, instead of waiting for me to go visit him. Truth is life at hospital really dragged on.  
  
My mother brought me a sketchbook, but my shoulder still bothered me and I had to stop drawing after an hour or two at most. She brought me magazines every two or three days, but I had so much free time in my hands that I ended up knowing the content by heart due to so much flicking through them. The only thing that made things more pleasant were my friends and family visits, but they were lesser during the day, since most people were working.  
  
"Good afternoon," a voice crooned from the door.  
  
I didn't need to turn around to know who it was, but I still did.  
  
"Hi, Sho," I greeted him with a smile.  
  
He didn't come in. He stayed by the door, with a questioning gesture on his face and a half smile on his lips.  I watched him confusedly, unable to understand why he didn't come in, but then I understood; his hair wasn't blond anymore, and it wasn't slicked back either. Now he wore a dark jet shade and bangs on his forehead that made him look younger, less tough.  
  
"Wow!" I exclaimed, astonished. "What a change."  
  
"Do you like it?" he asked with an almost timid smile.  
  
I nodded in silence.  
  
"You look... different..."  
  
He chuckled, and finally came into the room.  
  
"How are you today?" he asked.  
  
We talked for a long while, until a nurse brought my dinner. Sho wanted to leave to avoid disturbing me, but I invited him to stay and keep me company. In the middle of my meal, Jun appeared with his crutches, and the three of us talked until almost midnight.  
  
  
**SHO**  
  
I couldn't use my old phone.  
  
They would notice it wasn't in my apartment, and I was sure they talked to the phone company to know right away if I ever used it. However, I wanted to stay in touch with my four friends, so I went straight to a cellphone store and bought a new one; one of those pay as you go phones. I wanted a model as simple to use as possible, but technology made a great progress through those eight years and phones with keyboards didn't exist anymore. I had to ask the salesperson to teach me how it worked, but it was worth it.  
  
Only for the daily texts from Ohno, it was worthy.  
  
  
**AIBA**  
  
"So, you've been seeing each other all this time?" I asked him, excited. "Ever since you were discharged?"  
  
"Well... Yeah," Ohno chuckled. "You could say so."  
  
My friend's eyes sparkled.  
  
"I'm so jealous. I want to find someone I like too, and I want them to like me, and hopefully everything becomes incredibly romantic," I sighed, longingly.  
  
"Sounds good," Ohno laughed. "But my story with Sho is everything but romantic. Moreover, I don't really know if he likes me."  
  
"But you do like him, right?"  
  
Ohno's cheek became slightly pink.  
  
"I think so..." he replied, timidly.  
  
"And you text each other every day," I pointed out. "Not to mention that you visit a lot of places together. Just the two of you. Alone. I'd say those are dates."  
  
  
**JUN**  
  
"How many dates did you have?" Nino asked, stirring his tea.  
  
"I don't know if you can call them dates," replied Sho, pensive. "But we've met a few times. Maybe ten or twelve."  
  
"Just the two of you?" Nino forgot about his tea to focus on Sho.  
  
I watched him with interest, in silence.  
  
Sho only nodded.  
  
"That's ten or twelve dates," Nino concluded. "Are you planning to tell him?"  
  
"Tell him?" Sho raised an eyebrow. "What? When?"  
  
"I don't know. Today, maybe."  
  
  
**OHNO**  
  
"Where did you arrange to meet today?" Aiba asked me, curiously.  
  
"At my place," I replied almost in a whisper.  
  
My friend stared at me, his eyes and mouth open wide.  
  
"At your place?!" he exclaimed.  
  
I looked around, hoping no one heard him.  
  
"Quiet down," I asked him. "We've met in my place before, I don't see why it'd be different this time."  
  
"Oh! Come on, Ohno! Whenever the five of us meet, he undresses you with his eyes. Even I realized it, and you know I'm not the observant type."  
  
I couldn't help chuckling.  
  
I also noticed Sho looked at me more than he looked at the others, and he paid a lot of attention to me even when we were all together, but I never stopped to think what could it mean. Now that I was listening to Aiba-chan's words, truth was it didn't sound that crazy.  
  
"Do you think he likes me?" I asked anyway.  
  
Aiba-chan eagerly nodded.  
  
  
**NINO**  
  
"Okay," I said, compiling our conversation in my mind. "So, you're meeting him this afternoon at his place, and you're going to tell him about your feelings."  
  
"Well, I don't know if I'm going to tell him or if I'll directly take action," Sho clarified. "But I do want him to know he's more than just a friend to me."  
  
I smirked.  
  
"Directly taking action sounds great," I commented.  
  
Jun cleared his throat, and leaned in on his seat. He'd been listening to our conversation, but he remained silent until that moment. Sho and I looked at him, expectantly, wishing to finally hear what he had to say.  
  
"I think it's obvious you guys feel attracted to each other. Very much," he quietly said, slowly. "But, even when you're somehow sure about this, it's better to do things well and take one step at a time."  
  
"You mean I shouldn't directly take action?"  
  
Jun nodded and sipped his coffee.  
  
"If you want my advice: Ohno doesn't look like a sexual person. Even when you like each other, probably he won't like it if you're too straightforward."  
  
I crossed my arms over my chest, and tilted my head.  
  
The damn Jun was always right.  
  
  
**SHO**  
  
I firmly walked from the train station.  
  
I told myself a thousand times that everything would be alright.  
  
It was Ohno. What could go wrong?  
  
I rang his doorbell with trembling hands.  
  
I was so nervous that I could hardly breathe.  
  
He opened the door.  
  
And when I saw his face, I thought I'd die right there.


	4. Fragile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Author:** [](http://arimi-skywalker.livejournal.com/profile)[**arimi_skywalker**](http://arimi-skywalker.livejournal.com/) ([sutekihanashi](https://twitter.com/sutekihanashi))  
>  Disclaimer: fanFICTION (extra emphasis on the fiction). None of this is based in anything even resembling fact except for, like, their names. Do not know, don't presume to know. Not owning. Not meant to offend. Just fangirling.  
> A/N: Thanks to my dear 'Sho-chan' for checking and correcting this text for me. I suck at expressing myself in english ^^;;
> 
> _If you like this, you're welcome to check out my other fics :)_

**OHNO**  
  
We had tea, ate sweets, and laughed.  
  
We laughed until our jaws hurt, and our eyes were blurred with tears. I couldn't believe I'd ever been suspicious of him, back when were still two strangers; I couldn't believe I didn't trust him when he said he was doctor, and I prejudged him because of the tattoo on his arm. Now, his name felt different. It sounded different in my ears because he was different in my eyes.  
  
I don't know when I started wanting to wake up early, and have breakfast with him before leaving for work; or when I started listening to all the rap music I found to exchange opinions with him later; or when I started wishing the night passed quickly to see him again in the morning. Being with Sho made me want to learn, and become a better person. Because of him. I wanted to share my small world, and the few secrets I could have with him.

 

 **SHO**  
  
The first kiss happened in his living room.  
  
As Satoshi excitedly showed me one of his sketchbooks, I stared at him so intensely that he ended up looking up, and staring back at me. He approached me with caution. The kind of caution I'd already seen before in him, the day we met. I couldn't hold back and, with the same confidence I released him from that airplane seat back then, I kissed his lips.  
  
It was a clumsy kiss; the first I gave in a long time. My instinct had been desperately asking me to do it for weeks. The kisses that followed were more and more intense, braver, more daring, more perfect. Just because they were ours. Hungry and wild kisses. Kisses that turned into desperate caresses.  
  
"Wait," Satoshi placed a hand on my chest, and stopped kissing me.  
  
I held his hand, caressing it.  
  
"What's wrong?" I asked, almost in a whisper.  
  
"Let's go to my bedroom..."  
  
The shy smile that appeared on his lips drove me crazy.  
  
It'd been so long since I last kissed someone, since I last touched someone, since I last felt someone's breath on my skin. And Satoshi wasn't just someone. He was the most special person I'd ever met. He made me feel alive again. He made me forget about everything I lived during the last years, making me feel clean again. He made me feel so special that I only wanted to become better every day, so that he could see in me the man he deserved by his side.

 

 **OHNO**  
  
Sho lifted me in his arms, and I threw my arms around his neck.  
  
He awkwardly walked to my bedroom, while we covered each other with kisses, and once we were there, he set me on my bed. But I wasn't willing to let him go. Still with my arms around his neck, I pulled him to lie down on me. Immediately after, we started caressing each other again, even more desperately this time, and Sho's body moved over mine, making me sigh.  
  
Soon, we got rid of our clothes, and caresses turned into embraces. Embraces filled with bare and hot skin that desperately looked for the other's skin. Embraces that turned into sighs and growls, into heavy breathing and moans as we hungrily looked for each other. Sho burst into me with the strength of a cyclone, making me shiver. I bent my back in pleasure as he thrust with that manliness of his, that passionate strength that characterized him, until both of us ended up sweaty and exhausted on my blankets. Then came more embraces, more kisses, and smiles that promised springs, until we fell asleep in each other's arms.

 

 **NINO**  
  
"So, he's moving to your apartment?"  
  
Ohno nodded, sucking at the straw of his kakigoori.  
  
"We've been talking about it for a while now," he said slowly. "He hardly makes ends meet because the rent of his apartment is too high."  
  
I frowned. Something didn't fit.  
  
"But, isn't he a doctor?" I asked, suspiciously.  
  
My friend shrugged.  
  
"It's convenient for me as well, since he's going to pay for half of my rent."  
  
"I know, Ohno," I leaned in and rested my elbow on the table. "I know it's nice to share expenses, even more with the person you like. But something doesn't fit here."  
  
Ohno swallowed a spoonful of his kakigoori, and looked at me, completely lost.  
  
"What is it?" he asked after a while.  
  
"I don't even know," I rested my cheek on the hand I had on the table. "Doctors usually have a good salary. He shouldn't be having money problems."  
  
"Ah," he naturally replied. "That's because he's not working as a doctor now. He said he thought about his life after the accident, and he wants to make some changes. Why do you think he cut his hair and changed his color?"  
  
I frowned even more.  
  
"Is that what he said?"  
  
"Yeah," my friend had his mouth full of kakigoori again.  
  
"I don't know, Ohno. Changing your hair color is one thing, but not working is quite another."  
  
"He is working," he corrected me. "He's doing part-time jobs."

 

 **JUN**  
  
"What?!" I almost dropped my phone.  
  
"Just as you heard it."  
  
Nino was sitting on my office's couch as I tried to calm down a client who wouldn't stop sending furious e-mails. My afternoon was quite busy, but Nino had insisted so much in talking to me right away that I told him to drop by my office.  
  
"But it doesn't make any sense," I stated, shaking my head. "Who would give up a good job position or an education that takes so long and so much effort?"  
  
"It looks like Tsukamoto Sho would," Nino had his eyes fixed on me.  
  
I put my phone aside, and leaned on my desk, looking at him.  
  
"Where are you getting at?"  
  
"I don't even know," he admitted. "Maybe I'm being paranoid."  
  
I was silent.  
  
"Or maybe you are not," I said after a while. "To be honest, I thought it was weird when, after the accident, Ohno said Sho's a doctor. Bleached platinum blonde and wearing tattoos?"  
  
"I thought exactly the same."  
  
I shook my head, and sighed.  
  
"Do you think... he's hiding something?" I dared to ask.  
  
"I hope he's not," Nino replied honestly.

 

 **SHO**  
  
Life with Satoshi was even better than I imagined.  
  
I was still doing my part-time jobs, earning a small quantity for all the hours I worked, but I didn't care as long as I could see him every night before going to bed, and every morning when I woke up. Satoshi was like a giant sun that lit it all. By his side, sadness and sorrows disappeared. And oh, how wonderful it was to love him every day. Sometimes, I would spend the whole day wishing to reach home to kiss him, and take him to the bedroom, where I kept him until the next morning.  
  
It was never enough.  
  
I was always thirsty of him.  
  
Sometimes, he would scold me and tell me we should spend less time in the bedroom. He said we spent just a few hours together a day, due to our jobs, so we should make the most of them, but I couldn't think of a better way to make the most of our time together. In his arms, the old wounds from the past that insisted on reopening time after time would heal, and stay behind, turning into a distant memory.

 

 **AIBA**  
  
I'll never forget that Saturday afternoon.  
  
It was my day off. For the first time in a long time I could enjoy a whole Saturday all by myself, so I bought a bunch of trash food, some chuuhai cans, and got ready to spend the day lazing around at home. I lay down on my couch, and turned on the television, planning to leave it on until the wee hours. I was drinking my second chuuhai can, and having my third bag of curry flavored chips, when I switched channels, and some breaking news caught my attention.  
  
I left the bag of chips aside to listen carefully, and all my alarms triggered at the same time. I sat up on the couch, and stared at the image on screen. It couldn't be true. I was sure my eyes and ears were deceiving me. Did I have too much chuuhai? I shook the remainders of chips off my hands, and grabbed my phone from the table.  
  
I had to call Ohno.

 

 **OHNO**  
  
"We should get dressed."  
  
"Uh-huh," Sho replied with no intention of moving at all.  
  
We were lying on my bed, our bodies naked and tangled. I was lying on my side, while Sho was resting against my chest, his right arm enclosing my waist. I was embracing his face with my left arm, burying my fingers in his hair. My other arm was bent on my pillow, and my head rested on it. Both of us had our eyes closed, but we weren't sleeping. We were relaxing, just enjoying each other's company.  
  
I chuckled.  
  
"No, really," I insisted. "You start your work in two hours, and you still need to shower."  
  
Sho opened his eyes, and shifted slowly, in a lazy movement. He looked up and smiled, kissing my lips. Then, he kissed my chin, my neck, my shoulder blade, my chest... He tried to kiss one of my nipples, but I stirred, and moved him away, chuckling.  
  
"Enough!" I said. "Get up."  
  
He sighed, giving up.  
  
"At your service..." he replied in a hoarse voice, stretching his limbs.  
  
I followed him with my eyes as he walked to the bathroom. Sho's body was always a spectacle worthy of admiration. Then, I got up, put on my grey sweatpants, and went to the kitchen to make some coffee. I didn't have to work at night, like Sho did, but I needed something that helped me beating my laziness if I wanted to make the most of the time Sho wasn't at home to work on my sketches.  
  
I took my steaming mug, and sat down on the floor of my living room. My phone was on the kotatsu. I left it there the night before, and didn't check it again since then. I lit up the screen to see if I had any notification. I was surprised to see more than ten calls from Aiba-chan. I unlocked the device, and checked my missed calls list; he'd been calling me for half an hour. I tapped on his name, and placed the phone on my ear as I blew at my cup of coffee.  
  
Aiba-chan answered at the second tone.  
  
"Ohno!" he exclaimed. He sounded uneasy. "Finally!"  
  
I frowned, worried.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"You have to see what they're saying on TV," he said, hastily. "I'm at home, and I had a couple of chuuhai, so I don't know if what I'm hearing is real anymore."  
  
"Calm down," I asked him. "You're scaring me."  
  
"Turn on the TV. Any channel. It's everywhere."  
  
I looked for the remote, still with my phone on my ear, and found it next to the television. I got up, and pressed the power button, not paying attention to which channel was on. The newscaster was staring at the camera with a serious expression on her face while she read some breaking news I didn't get to understand; she was talking about a dangerous fugitive who could be alive after suffering an airplane crash.  
  
My heart skipped a beat.  
  
The world stopped spinning.  
  
I was breathless.  
  
Sho's picture, showing a violent expression on his face, and still wearing that bleached hair, was permanently on the lower left corner of the screen. Next to it, there was sign with a name: Sakurai Sho. It couldn't be him. That man's name wasn't the same as the one of the man who lived with me. The name of the man I fell in love with was Tsukamoto Sho, and he wasn't a dangerous fugitive. He was a good man, kind, generous, attentive, and he was a doctor. He wasn't a fugitive.  
  
Sho was a doctor.  
  
"Ohno?" Aiba-chan's voice brought me back to reality. "Are you there?"  
  
I tried to speak. I was tongue-tied.  
  
I cleared my throat.  
  
"Aiba-chan..." I managed to say, my voice choked. "I'll call you later."  
  
I didn't wait to hear my friend's reply.  
  
I hang up, and turned back to the television. The newscaster was still there, giving information about that fugitive, and Sho's picture was still there, on the corner. It was him. He had the same appearance he had when I saw him for the first time. However, the rest of things didn't fit. Or did they? If Sho was a doctor, why was he working part-time in a supermarket and a gas station, instead of having a permanent work in a hospital?  
  
At the moment, the bathroom's door opened, and Sho walked down the corridor.  
  
"Satoshi," he called me out, walking to the living room. "Have you seen my phone? I thought it was in my pants' pocket, but I can't find it."  
  
I turned to him with my soul shattered.  
  
A tear ran down my cheek.


	5. Innocent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Author:** [](http://arimi-skywalker.livejournal.com/profile)[**arimi_skywalker**](http://arimi-skywalker.livejournal.com/) ([sutekihanashi](https://twitter.com/sutekihanashi))  
>  Disclaimer: fanFICTION (extra emphasis on the fiction). None of this is based in anything even resembling fact except for, like, their names. Do not know, don't presume to know. Not owning. Not meant to offend. Just fangirling.  
> A/N: Thanks to my dear 'Sho-chan' for checking and correcting this text for me. I suck at expressing myself in english ^^;;
> 
> _If you like this, you're welcome to check out my other fics :)_

**SHO**

It finally came.

The dreaded day when Satoshi found the truth finally came.

I was getting ready to work the night shift at one of my part-time jobs, but I couldn't find my cellphone. I looked for it everywhere; in the bedroom, in my pockets, inside my bedside table's drawer... When I couldn't think about any more places, I walked to the living room only wearing my pants, barefoot, my hair still wet after taking a shower.

Maybe Satoshi knew where it was.

When I entered the room, my boyfriend was standing in front of the television, squeezing his phone in his right hand. The moment I talked to him, he turned around, and stared at me. At first, I didn't understand the fear in his eyes, the shivering in his lips, his unusual quietness as he looked me up and down. But then, I understood it all; on the news channel, the newscaster talked about a dangerous fugitive who could've survived an airplane crash weeks ago.

She was talking about me.

"Satoshi... I...." a tear rolled down his cheek, breaking my heart in two. "I can explain it... I-If you listen to me, I-"

"Explain what?" he cut me off, shaking his head in disapproval.

**OHNO**

I couldn't stop shaking.

Anger, frustration, and fear took over me.

I felt like I didn't know the person in front of me.

How many lies did he tell me?

**SHO**

"Please, Satoshi," I begged. "Just listen to me. Please. Just listen to what I have to say, and then, if you want me to, I'll leave. You won't see me again, if you want it like that. I'm only asking for you to listen to me."

"Listen to you..." Satoshi was shaking so violently that I wanted to hold him against my chest, and tell him everything would be alright, but I knew he wouldn't allow me close to him. And things weren't alright. "So that you can keep telling lies?"

"No! I-"

"How could you do it, Sho?! I loved you..." my boyfriend sobbed, and had to make a pause to breathe. "Damn it! I still love you."

"And I love you! Satoshi, you're the best thing in my life. The only good thing I've ever had. I'm so sorry about this... I'm truly sorry..."

**OHNO**

Sho's eyes were covered in tears, but he didn't get to shed them.

He frowned and clenched his fists, squeezing them so tight that his knuckles became white. It wasn't a lie. I couldn't believe his words anymore, but his gestures weren't fake. His pain, his helplessness, was the truest thing that happened since he entered the living room.

"Why... did you do this...?" I asked in a voice choked by the tears. "Why didn't you tell me the truth since the beginning?"

"If I did, would you have accepted being my partner?"

**SHO**

Satoshi stepped back, as if I slapped him.

 

**OHNO**

Sho stared at me, waiting for an answer I couldn't give.

"I don't know..." I said, honestly. "You didn't give me the chance to choose."

"If you had the chance to choose now," he said slowly, "is there any chance that you'd choose being with me? Be honest."

Probably, not.

I looked down in silence.

**SHO**

His silence said it all.

He wouldn't be with me if I told him the truth since the beginning.

"See?" I opened my arms as a surrender sign. "That's why I didn't tell you."

"It's not fair..." he whispered.

"I know, Satoshi, but I'm not a fugitive. I swear I am not."

Satoshi looked up, and fixed his eyes on me again.

"Why is your photo on television, then?"

 

**OHNO**

Sho remained silent, and let out a long sigh.

"Tell me, Sho," I asked him, almost begging. "And, please, no more lies."

**SHO**

Satoshi's sad eyes pierced through my soul.

I was hurting him.

I didn't want things to end up like that.

I nodded, and looked him in the eyes.

"No more lies," I promised. "Only the truth."

**OHNO**

When Sho motioned to the couch for us to sit down and talk, I had a thousand second thoughts. What if he was a dangerous fugitive as they said on TV? What if he was only trying to gain time to think about how to get rid of me? A shiver traveled down my spine. I'd seen it a thousand times on movies; someone trusted the bad guy's words, and they ended up being killed. Though, they also bled to death when someone released them from a heavy object, and I had survived.

I looked at Sho out of the corner of my eye, weighing the situation.

I had my phone in my hand. I could call the police.

"I'll stay here, if you don't want me to get close to you," he said, as if he could read my mind. "I only need you to let me explain all this. Really."

I sighed, and loosened the grip on my phone.

Without realizing, I had been holding it so tightly that it was starting to hurt.

"I'm listening," I told him, arms crossed over my chest. "But if you make the slightest weird thing, I'll call the police."

**SHO**

His words hurt.

They hurt like a hundred stings stabbing my chest at the same time, but I couldn't blame him. Somehow, I deserved that situation. I should've been honest with him weeks ago, when I knew what I felt for him was different from what I felt for the rest of my friends.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

"I don't know where to begin. Everything is so... complicated... Some things happened... that led me to this situation, and now... I don't know how to get out of it."

"Do you mean how to get out of jail?" Ohno raised an eyebrow.

"No. Or, well, yes," thinking about it, that was my final purpose. "But, for that, I need to prove my innocence first. And it's impossible."

My boyfriend tilted his head.

"What did you to end up in jail?"

I stared at him in silence.

"I stabbed a man to death," I confessed.

 

**AIBA**

After calling Ohno, I immediately called Jun.

"Aiba-chan," my friend greeted me.

"Jun, I'm so glad you picked up the phone," I said, feeling relieved. "Did you hear the news?"

"Impossible not to hear them," Jun let out a long sigh. "It's in every single channel since half an hour ago."

I remained silent.

I was afraid of saying it out loud, but what if my suspicions were right, and became real? I didn't want to doubt Sho. I didn't want to think he was dangerous. He took care of everyone during the accident; he made sure we felt as comfortable as possible, he even gave us some of his food and clothes, when he needed them as much as we did.

Sho was a good man.

"He isn't... Sho, right?" I could finally say. "Our Sho is not dangerous... Right?"

Jun let out another sigh, this time even longer than before.

"I'd like to tell you he isn't the person on TV."

I gulped, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat.

"But Sho is... nice. And generous!"

"You'd be surprised about the number of nice and generous people who committed awful crimes," my friend said, kind of ironically. "I've faced men in court who looked completely innocent."

"What are we going to do, then?"

"I don't know," Jun sounded confused.

A warning feeling took over me.

What if Ohno was in danger?

"Jun..." I said. "I called Ohno... some minutes ago..."

"Is he at home?"

"Yes. He hadn't heard the news yet. I was the one who told him to watch the news channel."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line.

"Jun?" I frowned, worried.

"Sho... Is he with him?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask him."

"You didn't ask him?!" my friend raised his voice, agitated. "You told him to watch the news not knowing if Sho is home?"

This time, it was me who remained silent.

Until that moment, I didn't realize my mistake. If Sho was a dangerous fugitive, it was better if he thought Ohno didn't know a thing about his true identity. If he was home when I called Ohno and he turned the TV on, Sho could feel threatened.

What if Ohno was in danger because of me?

"I'm sorry..." I whispered.

"Listen, Aiba-chan," Jun said, quickly. "Take your things, call Nino to tell him to be ready as well, and wait for me at your main door. I'm on my way."

"What are we going to do?"

"I don't know," my friend sounded determined, despite his words. "I only know we have to do something, and it has to be done right now. If Sho is home with Ohno, maybe tomorrow will be too late."

My heart skipped a beat.

**SHO**

Satoshi wide opened his eyes, and stepped back.

"Wait," I said right away, seeing he raised the hand holding his phone. "They charge me with stabbing a man to death, but I didn't do it."

"How do you expect me to believe you?! Killing a man is-"

"Listen, please," I begged. "You promised you would."

My boyfriend sighed with shaking hands.

I hated that situation. The person I wanted to protect the most in this world saw me as a threat, and there was nothing I could do to make that fear disappear. I wasn't even sure he would keep his promise, and listen to me until the end, since he was getting more and more nervous and agitated, but at least I had to try.

I couldn't stand the idea of Satoshi thinking I was a murderer.

"Eight years ago, a Tuesday afternoon, I spent the day with my friends at Shinjuku," I started to say. "I headed to Shinjuku station to take a train back home. It was already dark, and I had to walk through one of the alleys in Kabukicho. I wanted to smoke a cigarette, but my lighter ran out of gas, so I stopped and looked around, looking for someone who could lend me a lighter. A guy walked out one of the shops at the moment; I asked him, and he lent me his lighter. As I lit up my cigarette, he watched me curiously, I guess it was because of my orangish hair color and the tattoos I didn't care hiding. Besides, I was young back then, and... Well, let's say I wore different clothes than I do now," I made a gesture with my lips that caught Satoshi's attention. "The thing is that guy couldn't hold back his curiosity, he asked me a couple of questions, and we started a conversation. When I was almost halfway in my cigarette, we heard some spine-chilling screams that came from a littler and darker alley, at the end of the alley where we were. Probably, today I wouldn't dare to react like I did back then; I exchanged a brief look with the guy I had been talking to, and walked down the alley, determinedly. I could hear the screams closer and closer," I shook my head, recalling my memories.

Satoshi watched me attentively.

He had stopped shaking.

"W-What happened then?"

"There was a guy stabbing another one, completely deranged," I frowned when I could see the scene in my mind, as if I were living it again. "He stabbed the knife again and again, heartlessly. The guy on the floor screamed and tried to defend himself, but the other guy was way bigger than him. I don't know what I thought at the time, but I shouted in order to catch the attention of the guy who held the knife, and everything happened really quickly. When he saw me, he got scared, and ran to me. He threatened me with stabbing me, but I know some karate, and I could defend myself; I pushed him against the wall. When he saw he couldn't harm me, the guy burst forth from the alley. I was breathing heavily because I was very nervous. I ran to the guy on the floor; I crouched down to help him, but he had wounds everywhere, and he was about to pass out. I looked up to ask the guy who had been talking to me to call an ambulance, but he had run away. I guess he was afraid of getting hurt, I don't know. I had to call an ambulance myself and even went to the hospital, but they couldn't do anything for that poor man."

"He died?" Satoshi blinked, trying not to cry again.

I nodded in silence.

"I don't understand," my boyfriend frowned. Why do they charge you with killing him, when you tried to help him?"

"My fingerprints were all around his body, and his blood was all around my clothes. There was no witness. It was my worth against the judge's. I was charged with cold-blooded murder," I frowned, annoyed because someone thought I could be able to do something like that. "And now..." I looked up, "I'm in the death row. Waiting to be executed."

Satoshi stifled a scream.

**OHNO**

In the death row.

Prisoners are executed without previous warning there.


	6. Unfair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Author:** [](http://arimi-skywalker.livejournal.com/profile)[**arimi_skywalker**](http://arimi-skywalker.livejournal.com/) ([sutekihanashi](https://twitter.com/sutekihanashi))  
>  Disclaimer: fanFICTION (extra emphasis on the fiction). None of this is based in anything even resembling fact except for, like, their names. Do not know, don't presume to know. Not owning. Not meant to offend. Just fangirling.  
> A/N: Thanks to my dear 'Sho-chan' for checking and correcting this text for me. I suck at expressing myself in english ^^;;
> 
> _If you like this, you're welcome to check out my other fics :)_

**SHO**  
  
It was over.  
  
Now, Satoshi knew the whole truth.  
  
"And that's all," I concluded, opening my arms. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, and I understand if you don't want to see me again. I'll look for a place to spend the night when I finish my work in the morning, and I'll come back later to grab my things."  
  
I turned around, and walked back to the bedroom.  
  
I needed to find my damn cellphone to tell my manager I would be late. The last thing I wanted, after what happened in the living room, was that my boss stopped giving me shifts, leading me to earn even less money. It was already enough that I suddenly lost my home... and Satoshi.  
  
The tears I didn't shed in front of him started running down my cheeks. He was the only thing that wasn't stained in my life, in a way or another. Since I met him, I started becoming a better person. He taught me how to enjoy a cup of coffee together on Saturday afternoon, how to be patient, how to be more compliant, and how to take into account that I didn't always know the details in every person's life. He taught me life is short, and it's better to enjoy its little details than being mad at everything. Before Satoshi, I was bad-tempered, short-tempered, adamant... Now, even the man in the mirror had changed; he used to have a sour face, but he always wore a smile now.  
  
Satoshi taught me how to smile.  
  
"Sho..."  
  
I jumped.  
  
Satoshi's voice came from the doorframe. I quickly looked for my t-shirt, and put it on, my back facing him. I took advantage of the movement to wipe my tears as I could, using the cloth and my hands. I didn't want him to see me crying. I didn't want him to pity me.  
  
"Yes?" I managed to say, looking around, searching for my cellphone.  
  
"Look at me," he asked me, almost in a whisper.  
  
I ignored him, and kept searching.  
  
"Look at me, please," he asked me again.  
  
When I turned around, I saw my cellphone on his hand.  
  
  
**OHNO**  
  
I found Sho's cellphone by the fridge.  
  
I wasn't even looking for it. I went to grab some ice cubes from the freezer to place them on my hurting toe, which I accidentally hit when Aiba-chan called, and I found it there, resting on the counter. When I took it in my hands, all the memories I had gathered since we arrived in Tokyo after the accident suddenly seized me; the hospital visits, the shared laughter, all the flirting going on between us, the text messages, the exchanged looks that said it all, the first kiss, the day he moved to my apartment. Everything was so real inside of me that I couldn't believe it was over. Suddenly. In a matter of minutes, I went from being in bed, happy by his side, to not knowing who he was.  
  
Wasn't he really the same person?  
  
Now, seeing him standing there, wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, his eyes reddened by the tears, he didn't look like a murderer to me. He looked like a vulnerable, hurting, desperate man. And his eyes were still the same I fell in love with months before. They were still as transparent, honest, and expressive as they were the first day I saw him.  
  
"I found it next to the fridge," I said, handing the phone to him. "I think you left it there yesterday night, before dinner."  
  
Sho nodded in silence, and accepted it.  
  
"Thank you..." he said, almost in a whisper.  
  
I sighed.  
  
My head said I shouldn't do it. It could be dangerous. But my heart yelled me to do it. I still loved that man. Nothing inside of me had changed. Maybe I was mad because I would've liked to know the truth before, through him, and not through the television, but it didn't mean anything to me at the moment. I believed him. I believed his words. I believed his gestures. I believed his desperation.  
  
I believed in his innocence.  
  
"You don't need to look for a place to sleep tomorrow morning," I started saying, slowly. "You can come here. You can stay here. This is your home."  
  
He stared at me for a few seconds, then he shook his head.  
  
"I appreciate it, Satoshi," he replied, placing his phone in his pocket. "But the sooner I leave, the better it'll be for the two of us."  
  
"You don't understand it. I don't want you to leave."  
  
He fixed his eyes on me again, wearing a confused expression.  
  
"I want you..." my voice was shaking. "I want you to stay... by my side..."  
  
"I thought you didn't want to see me again," he frowned. "Aren't you going to call the police?"  
  
I quickly shook my head.  
  
"I..." tears were running down my cheeks again. "I love you, Sho... I don't want them to kill you..."  
  
  
**SHO**  
  
Satoshi's words slipped in my heart like rain water slips through the chaps of an old shoe. They took over me slowly, but steady, filling me little by little until they completely soaked my heart with affection. Was he trying to say he believed me? Did he really believe I was innocent?  
  
"Please..." he begged. "Stay with me... I'm sorry I talked to you like I did some minutes ago... I was caught by surprise by those news, I didn't know what to do, and-"  
  
I didn't allow him to keep talking.  
  
I strode to him, and wrapped him in my arms.  
  
There was nothing to apologize for. There was nothing to be sorry about. There was nothing to reproach. In my heart, there was only place for gratitude; to Satoshi, for believing me, and to whoever was the one playing with the threads of fate and made us survive that accident, and meet each other. Everything else didn't matter to me.  
  
Nothing mattered if he believed me, if he still loved me.  
  
"Thank you..." I whispered, tightening him in my arms.  
  
He put his arms around me, and grabbed my shirt so tight that I felt it tightening up around my waist and chest. And he cried. He cried his eyes out against my shoulder as I stroked his hair, and whispered on his ear, trying to calm him down.  
  
  
**OHNO**  
  
All the stress I had gathered came out suddenly.  
  
I had no plans to do it, but it happened; I got everything off my chest in Sho's arms until I ran out of tears. He comforted me, and softly kissed my lips, saying without words how grateful he was. However, there was nothing he had to thank me for. I loved him. With all my being. And just thinking he could be killed any moment, without warning, made me shiver with panic.  
  
When we managed to move away from each other, he called his manager to say he would be two hours late. His manager said they would have a talk when he arrived, and, of course, Sho wouldn't get paid for those two hours. He didn't seem to care. He said I was more important that his filthy job (literal words) and, even when I didn't like him missing working hours because of me, that made me smile.  
  
I don't know how could I even think he wasn't innocent.  
  
  
**JUN**  
  
Tokyo could be a nightmare when I was in a rush.  
  
Probably, we could've managed to arrive earlier if we took the train, instead of using my car, but everything happened so fast that I didn't think about it until I was already in the middle of that maze of cars. Moreover, the traffic was especially chaotic because it was Saturday afternoon. I lost my cool several times; I frenziedly honked, and even insulted some drivers. Usually, I wasn't that aggressive when I was driving, but my friend could be in danger.  
  
Every second counted.  
  
When we finally arrived to the neighborhood where Ohno and Sho lived, I told Nino and Aiba-chan to get off the car and run to their apartment. I still needed to find a place to park, and we couldn't afford wasting more time. I only hoped Sho wasn't home or it could be already late.  
  
Too late.  
  
  
**AIBA**  
  
Nino and I ran as much as our legs allowed us.  
  
When we reached the entrance to Ohno's building, I rang the bell of his apartment as if my life depended on it. I didn't even wait for an answer before ringing it a second and a third time. Nino was restless by my side. I was about to cry. Tears were already blurring my eyes when a sound interrupted my thoughts.  
  
It came from the intercom.  
  
"Hello?" it was Ohno's voice.  
  
Nino and I stopped holding our breathing.  
  
He was alive.  
  
  
**NINO**  
  
We got to Ohno's apartment, and everything looked alright.  
  
No sign that Sho was around.  
  
Television was still on in the living when we entered. Ohno turned it off, and told us everything that happened after he hung up on Aiba-chan. The two of us listened carefully. At some point, not too far into the conversation, Jun rang the bell, so we made him a little summary of what we already heard, and listened to rest of details together.  
  
"And, well," Ohno shrugged, "I believe him. I know him, and I do believe him."  
  
I nodded, thoughtfully. Aiba-chan placed his hand on Ohno's shoulder, as a sign of support. But Jun looked as if he'd been thinking about something for a while. He was frowning, had his arms crossed over his chest, and sometimes he moved his eyebrows in a spastic gesture.  
  
"The thing is this isn't new for me," he finally said, looking at Ohno. "How many years ago did you say it happened?"  
  
"Around eight, according to Sho."  
  
This time, Jun was the one nodding.  
  
"Do you mind if I investigate who handled the case, and who was the judge passing sentence?" he asked.  
  
"No, of course I don't mind," replied Ohno right away. "Do you think that...?"  
  
"That he's innocent?"  
  
Ohno nodded slowly.  
  
"He may be," confirmed Jun. "It wouldn't be the first time someone gets a wrong sentence. Most times it happens because of some lack of evidence or witnesses, which leads the judge to assumptions."  
  
"Really?" Aiba-chan couldn't believe his ears.  
  
"As a lawyer I can say that, unfortunately, justice isn't infallible," Jun replied.  
  
"Wow..." Aiba-chan frowned and shook his head, upset.  
  
"And what about the prison he was in?" asked Ohno, looking at me.  
  
I puckered my lips, and rolled my eyes, pensive.  
  
"As far as I know, Kyoto prison is going to be demolished," I replied, a little unsure. "I'll ask my father about it. He's the one who knows about these things."Ohno nodded, and all of us remained silent for a while.  
  
"I can't believe an innocent person spent eight years in the death row," Aiba-chan mumbled. "What if he was executed in that time? He'd be dead now. It's unfair!"  
  
Ohno's face was shaken, and it became as white as paper.  
  
"I have to do something to help him," panic could be seen in his eyes. "I can't allow them to find him. Now that his picture is everywhere, it's just a matter of time that someone recognizes him."  
  
"Maybe, it's better if he stays home for now, while we look for a solution," Jun suggested.  
  
Ohno's eyes sparkled with hope.  
  
"Do you mean... you're going to help me?" he asked in a shaking voice.  
  
"We'll help you," I immediately corrected him. "We're in this together."  
  
Aiba-chan nodded with decision.  
  
"We won't allow Sho to go back to jail," he stated, certainly. "At least, not without fighting with tooth and nail to prove he's innocent first."  
  
Tears blurred Ohno's eyes.  
  
"Thank you, guys," he sobbed with a choked voice. "You are... I'm speechless."  
  
"¿Amazing? ¿Wonderful? ¿The best?" I helped him.  
  
Even when Ohno took me seriously and nodded, Jun and Aiba-chan laughed.  
  
We were really serious about fighting for Sho with tooth and nail. All of us. During those twelve days in which we were uncertain about our future, a strong bond was born between the five of us, which made me feel them as a part of me now. Those people had become my family. Their problems were my problems. What hurt them, hurt me. What had to do with them, had to do with me too.  
  
Sho's injustice was everyone's injustice.


	7. Memory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Author:** [](http://arimi-skywalker.livejournal.com/profile)[**arimi_skywalker**](http://arimi-skywalker.livejournal.com/) ([sutekihanashi](https://twitter.com/sutekihanashi))  
>  Disclaimer: fanFICTION (extra emphasis on the fiction). None of this is based in anything even resembling fact except for, like, their names. Do not know, don't presume to know. Not owning. Not meant to offend. Just fangirling.  
> A/N: Thanks to my dear 'Sho-chan' for checking and correcting this text for me. I suck at expressing myself in english ^^;;
> 
> _If you like this, you're welcome to check out my other fics :)_

**OHNO**  
  
The moment Sho arrived home, I threw myself into his arms.  
  
"What are you doing awake?" he asked, surprised.  
  
"I was waiting for you," I moved away to kiss his lips, and caress his face. "You have to leave your jobs. Right now."  
  
Show frowned.  
  
"Wait," he said, grabbing my waist to move me away. "Have you really been awake all night, waiting for me, to tell me something like this?"  
  
"I did sleep. Not for too long, due to the nerves, but I slept. I woke up less than an hour ago because I knew you were about to arrive."  
  
"And why do you exactly want me to give up my jobs?"  
  
My boyfriend didn't look thrilled. He was still frowning as he tapped the floor with his foot. He stood away from me, and crossed his arms over his chest, like showing me he didn't agree with what I was asking for. And I understood him. I really understood him. Sho was a self-reliant person, I knew he wanted to have his own income, as small as it was, but I was terrified.  
  
What if someone recognized him and called the police?  
  
"Yesterday afternoon, soon after you left, the guys came to visit," I started to explain. "They were worried because they watched the news on TV, and they wanted to make sure everything was alright."  
  
"They wanted to make sure I didn't kidnap you or something, right?" he snorted.  
  
I sighed, feeling sad.  
  
"Don't blame them, Sho," I asked him. "The news was enough to have anyone worried. They didn't know the truth until they came here, and I told them about it."  
  
My boyfriend was silent.  
  
"What did they say?" he finally asked, his face tense.  
  
"They believe you," I calmed him down. "They believe in your innocence, and are willing to help us."  
  
"They shouldn't get involved in this," he replied right away, running a hand through his hair. "It's already bad enough you're hiding me."  
  
"Jun said he wants to investigate your case. He says he's going to find out who was the judge passing your sentence, and he wants to look for that man you talked to in the alley before everything happened."  
  
Sho opened his eyes and shook his head.  
  
"It's crazy," he said, almost in a whisper. "He's going to get in trouble. I'll call him right now to tell him to stop this nonsense. There's nothing he can do for me."  
  
He took his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it to look for Jun's number, but I walked closer to him, and gently placed my hand on the device. Sho looked at me as I lowered his hand, and tried to smile to calm him down. He was shaking so much that I wanted to hug him and protect him. I wanted to lock him away in a place no one could find him.  
  
"Jun is a good lawyer," I told him, wrapping his hand in mine. "He won many other cases as complicated as yours. And Nino is going to help too; he said he'll try to access the prison system, and get your criminal record."  
  
"I don't want them to get in trouble because of me. Nino is crazy if he thinks he can access the prison system, and no one is going to realize. As good as he is with computers, this is serious, Satoshi."  
  
"I know," little by little, I managed to make him loosening the grip around his phone, and placed it on the table. "But he says everything is going to be alright if he accesses using his father's username; he's Tokyo prison's current governor"  
  
"You're kidding me..."  
  
I shook my head, and the smile on my face widened.  
  
"We have a chance, Sho. We can claim justice. Jun will have your case reopened the moment he investigates about it and has gathered enough evidence, and he will defend you himself. But, until then, you have to stay at home," I begged him. "Please, don't expose yourself."  
  
Sho looked away and fixed his eyes on the living room's window. He was frowning again as if he was weighing the chances of winning we had, but at least he wasn't shaking anymore. I was silent, and caressed his hand, waiting for him to say something.  
  
"It's crazy," he whispered.  
  
"I trust Jun and Nino. And I trust you. I know we can fix this."  
  
My boyfriend's expression relaxed.  
  
"Satoshi, I-"  
  
"Don't say anything," I interrupted him, placing a finger on his lips. "Let our friends do their job. We'll have time to think about everything else later."  
  
He looked at me, and I think I saw a smile on his lips.  
  
  
**JUN**  
  
It was hard to make any improvement.  
  
We talked to Ohno in his apartment almost three weeks ago, and I promised I'd help him. Since then, I used all my free time to look for information about Sho's case, but it was as if someone took the trouble to hide it away in oblivion. I found very few relevant things, and the name of the attorney or the judge in charge of the case were almost a state secret.  
  
I had to resort to one of my most important contacts to know and ask for the full case history in person. The fact that Sho was on the run didn't make things easy. Everyone I called was extremely cautious in their answers, and they insisted to know why I was interested in a case that had been closed more than eight years ago. I didn't blame them. I'd do the same in their place. Fortunately, my experience in the field helped me to sound convincing enough when I said I was only interest out of curiosity after I watched the news on television.  
  
I guess my reputation helped me too.  
  
  
**NINO**  
  
The damn system was way more secure than I first thought.  
  
After several days lurking around my father's office, which he always locked up, I was able to sneak in one afternoon and register all his drawers. I found his username and password hiding in the false bottom of a drawer locked with a code, but I still couldn't access the prisoners' criminal records; the damn site of hell had a personal detection system that changed every two minutes.  
  
Very clever.  
  
If someone accessed without permission, they'd know right away.  
  
  
**SHO**  
  
Life becomes never ending when you have all the time in the world.  
  
I left my two jobs, as Satoshi asked me to do, and I didn't even leave the apartment to buy cigarettes. The first few days weren't that terrible. Actually, it felt as if I was on holidays. But as days passed, minutes became hours, and hours became days.  
  
I watched series on Netflix, and I developed a liking on reading. Satoshi brought me books I asked him for and, more or less, I managed to get distracted several hours a day, but I missed going out. Even if it was only to take a rush-hour train, feeling tired because I had slept just a few hours, I wanted to go out. I was craving some fresh air so badly that sometimes I wanted to run away that apartment, but I guess it was worthy to hold back. I was imprisoned, but at least I could see Satoshi every day.  
  
If something made sense in my life, it was him.  
  
And he was the reason to continue with all that.  
  
  
**OHNO**  
  
Weeks passed, and Jun and Nino couldn't find any new information.  
  
I didn't blame them. I knew they were doing everything they could do when they didn't even have to help us in the first place, but I was starting to feel more and more anxious. Sho felt overwhelmed with every passing day because of the number of hours he spent at home, and I couldn't do anything for him. I was trying not to work extra hours, leave my office as soon as I could and go back to his side, but many times it wasn't on my hand. Besides, I still had to travel outside Tokyo on some weekends. That was the worst part for me. I felt guilty for leaving Sho alone, and my heart cried for him.  
  
  
**NINO**  
  
It was frustrating.  
  
Every passing day was a day against us. Sho didn't go out of Ohno's apartment, but he was still on the run; it was just a matter of time they found him. And I couldn't access the criminal records.  
  
Damn system of hell.  
  
  
**JUN**  
  
"How is it going?"  
  
I was in my office that morning, having a quick cup of coffee before leaving to a trial that would have me busy for the rest of the day, so I took the chance to call Nino and ask him about Sho's record.  
  
"Still the same," my friend snorted. "It's frustrating."  
  
"You couldn't make any progress?" my voice wasn't reproachfully, but worried.  
  
"This thing refreshes every two minutes. The information which is useful now becomes outdated in hours. So just imagine what happens in days," Nino clicked his tongue. "It's as if I accessed the system for the first time every day. It's crazy!"  
  
I flopped on my leather chair and sighed.  
  
"Nino," I said slowly. "You know that almost two months passed already..."  
  
"I know. I know," my friend sounded desperate. "Damn it, Jun! I swear I'm doing everything I can. I swear I-"  
  
"I know," I cut him off. "But we can't wait much longer. At this point, maybe we should think about something that gives us time or, at least, that gives us some credibility. No judge will like that Sho's been on the run for months, and the prosecutor won't hesitate in using that against us."  
  
"What do you want us to do?" he asked slowly.  
  
I sighed again and placed my fingers on my temple as I closed my eyes.  
  
"We have no choice..."  
  
  
**SHO**  
  
I will always remember that day.  
  
It was a Sunday morning. Very early. We were still sleeping when Satoshi's phone rang. At first, both of us ignored it, but since whoever was calling insisted so much, Satoshi ended up answering. He didn't turn the lights on, so I could only see his shape as he walked to the corridor, and answered. Some minutes later, he slowly opened the door, and walked back into the bedroom, silently slipping under the blankets. He snuggled up against my chest, and I placed my arm around his waist, moving him closer to me.  
  
"Who was calling at this time in the morning?" I asked, half asleep.  
  
I didn't get an answer.  
  
Satoshi sighed deeply as if he were crying.  
  
"Satoshi?"  
  
When I didn't get an answer again, I turned around and turned the lights on.  
  
My boyfriend was curling up, and his shoulders were shaking. He didn't make any sound, but I knew he was crying. I frowned, and gently stroke his hair. He was breathing so heavily that my heart sank.  
  
"What happened?" I whispered. "What's wrong?"  
  
Once again, he remained silent.  
  
"Satoshi... please..." I begged. "Talk to me."  
  
I kept stroking his hair while I waited for his reply.  
  
"All this... It's a nightmare..." he sobbed.  
  
"What happened?" I insisted, playing with his bangs. "Who was the person on the phone?"  
  
He looked at me, and I could see his face was soaked in tears. His chest went up and down fast, and his hands were shaking so violently that my first reaction was holding them in mine and caress them as if I wanted to warm them up. Even when I knew they weren't shaking with cold.  
  
"It was Jun..." he managed to say.  
  
My heart jumped.  
  
I swallowed saliva.  
  
"Did... Did he find anything?" I dared to ask.  
  
"He says..." Satoshi frowned, hiccupping. "He says that... That he's waiting for... for Nino to access the prison system..." he had to stop to catch his breath. "He says... He says that... things are getting ugly... And it's better to..."  
  
He couldn't go on because he starting crying again.  
  
"It's okay, Satoshi, please," I couldn't stand seeing him like that. I knew the news he had concerned my future, but I only wanted him to stop crying.  
  
It shattered me seeing him suffering like that.  
  
He clung to my t-shirt.  
  
"He says it's better if you turn yourself in."  
  
My whole world stopped.  
  
My head started spinning.  
  
"He says..." Satoshi continued. "That if you turn in now... It'll be easier to win... He says you can... you can state you were confused... after the accident... and that's why you didn't turn in before... He says that if you keep... being on the run... there's no way any judge.... believes in your innocence..."  
  
I hugged him tightly.  
  
I couldn't believe it.  
  
Nothing we did until then had been useful. I had to go back to that horrible place, and wait. Wait and pray for Jun and Nino to be faster than the ones ordering my execution.  
  
How many chances did we have for things going well?  
  
If I turned in, probably I wouldn't see Satoshi again. That would be our last moment together. I wouldn't kiss him again, I wouldn't caress him again, I wouldn't laugh with him again. And what hurt me the most was that he would end up forgetting me. He would find someone who made him happy, and I would end up being just a distant memory.  
  
So distant that I would become inexistent.  
  
That morning, Satoshi and I looked for each other for the last time. We kissed every centimeter of each other's skin, we whispered a million 'I love you', and we gave ourselves to each other, knowing it was the last time we would do it. Then he accompanied me to the closest police station, where I walked in alone. Unable to believe everything ended like that.  
  
Unable to accept I would soon be just memory.  
  
  
**NINO**  
  
Finally!  
  
It took me almost three months, but I finally achieved it; I accessed the damn system without breaking any rule that could give me away. I quickly looked for Sho's record, printed it, and sped away from my father's office, without even take a look at it. I bent the papers, placed them in my underpants, and walked through my home's corridor as if I just didn't commit a crime.  
  
When I reached my bedroom, I locked myself in the bathroom and took the papers out right away. I carefully read through it, paying attention to every number, every name, every word, until my eyes stopped on a sentence that caught my attention. I hissed some bad words and immediately grabbed my phone.  
  
"Jun? I've got Sho's record. We have to talk."


	8. Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Author:** [](http://arimi-skywalker.livejournal.com/profile)[**arimi_skywalker**](http://arimi-skywalker.livejournal.com/) ([sutekihanashi](https://twitter.com/sutekihanashi))  
>  Disclaimer: fanFICTION (extra emphasis on the fiction). None of this is based in anything even resembling fact except for, like, their names. Do not know, don't presume to know. Not owning. Not meant to offend. Just fangirling.  
>  _If you like this, you're welcome to check out my other fics :)_

**OHNO**  
  
If I have to choose the worst day of my life, I have no doubt.  
  
It wasn't the day I had that accident and almost died. It wasn't any of the twelve days I spent lost in the middle of nowhere, not knowing if someone would find me someday. No. The worst day of my life was the day I had to let go of Sho.  
  
Seeing him entering the police station broke me into a thousand pieces.  
  
After one month, I still didn't want to see anyone. I only wanted to cry. Cry and shout until losing my voice, and then, maybe, fall asleep and not waking up until that nightmare had come to the end. Until Sho was by my side again, smiling at me, holding my hand, kissing me as if I was something valuable.  
  
That night tears rolled down my cheeks once again, and my chest hurt as if someone hit me using all their strength, when I heard my phone ringing. At first, I ignored it. I didn't have the strength, neither I felt like talking to anyone. But, seeing how persistent the caller was, I ended up looking at the screen to check it wasn't my mom.  
  
It was Jun.  
  
I let the phone ring, staring at it without really seeing anything. When the call ended, my phone showed the home screen, where I had several notifications.  
  
Seven missed calls.  
  
One text message.  
  
"Ohno, it's about Sho. Call me back when you can."  
  
  
 **JUN**  
  
When my phone rang, I practically jumped on it.  
  
Each one of my contacts has a differently assigned chime, so I always know who's calling.  
  
"Ohno!" I exclaimed the moment I answered.  
  
"Hello," his voice sounded hoarse and dull.  
  
"I have some news. We need to meet."  
  
"Can you tell me on the phone?" he asked me, slurring his words.  
  
"I have something to show you, and it's important," I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Maybe you don't want to continue with this when you see it."  
  
  
 **NINO**  
  
It was a Wednesday afternoon.  
  
Jun and I were sitting on Ohno's couch, holding a cup of tea in our hands. Our friend insisted on sitting on the floor; he said he was more comfortable than in any other place. We were watching him in silence as he opened the folder which contained a copy of Sho's record and his eyes carefully checked the document, but he didn't even take five minutes to close it and give it back to us. Jun and I exchanged a confused look, then Jun took the folder, and cleared his throat. I focused my attention on Ohno again.  
  
There was a long silence in which there was no reaction from him.  
  
"If you want to give it a second thought, we're still one time," Jun said very slowly, carefully choosing every word. "I didn't re-open the case yet, and-"  
  
"Why should I want to give it a second thought?" Ohno interrupted him, frowning.  
  
Jun turned to me, his eyes asking me for help.  
  
I was just as bewildered.  
  
"Well," I leaned in. "Marijuana consumption is not a joke in this country."  
  
Ohno fixed his eyes on me.  
  
He was puffy-eyed, pale, and his eyes were red. He had lost weight in an alarming way during that month, and it looked like he wasn't completely in this world. Since we arrived at his place, he wore a lifeless gaze, and he didn't even seem to listen to what we were saying. However, at that moment, when he fixed his eyes on me, he did it determinedly.  
  
"Are you saying Sho is a murderer because he smoked a couple of joints when he was a teenager?" he asked me with a serious face.  
  
"It's not like that, Ohno," I sighed and messed my hair, trying to find the right words. "Besides the marijuana thing, he has a criminal background. I thought it was important enough as to let you know before continuing with all this."  
  
"He was young, Nino. He was fifteen when he committed that offense," Ohno pointed at the folder Jun was holding in his hands. "Also, it says it was a petty larceny offense. Probably, he stole a drink and a couple _onigiri_ from a _konbini_ , or maybe a video game from some mall."  
  
I looked at Jun, who nodded slowly.  
  
"Yeah, it could be," confirmed our friend. "Probably it was just kids' stuff, but I agree with Nino when he says you had to know. I think it's important enough as to make you doubt his innocence."  
  
"Doubt his innocence?" Ohno shook his head as if he couldn't believe what he heard. "I need something else than a couple of joints and a small teenager robbery for that."  
  
  
 **SHO**  
  
Days in jail were eternal.  
  
I had a strict timetable that set my sleep, my meals, and my free time. Since I was waiting for my execution, I didn't have the same rights as the other Japanese prisoners. I was incommunicado, I couldn't talk to other prisoners, and I could only have three books with me in my cell. No television, no open-air hours, no meals out of my cell. The only thing they allowed me to had been visits, even when they weren't that frequent, and prison staff watched me closely. During the eight years I spent there, I didn't care about visits at all, since I didn’t have any, but now they were the only thing I lived for.  
  
Satoshi came to visit me once a month, and to me, it was like breathing again. I couldn't touch him. There was a thick glass between us and two guards by my side, listening to everything we said, but I couldn't care less. Satoshi never skipped his visit. After four months, he still came every month, without failing, and that proved me he still loved me and believed in me.  
  
"Sho!" that morning, Satoshi was especially excited about seeing me.  
  
He immediately placed his hand on the glass, as he always did, and I placed mine over it. I couldn't feel it, but my head played to think I could, while I closed my eyes and listened to his voice. Air filled my lungs and, suddenly, I felt free. I smiled and opened my mouth as if my nose wasn't enough to breathe all that fresh air.  
  
"Sho, look at me," he asked me.  
  
When I opened my eyes, Satoshi beamed.  
  
His eyes sparkled, and he was shaking as if he couldn't control his excitement.  
  
"Jun found something," he told me, hurriedly. "He's going to re-open the case and ask for a new trial. You don't have to worry anymore. While we're waiting for the new trial, they can't execute you."  
  
I blinked, stunned.  
  
I felt as if I someone suddenly slapped me.  
  
"W-What did he find?" I managed to ask, in a shaking voice.  
  
"The guy you asked the lighter from. He found him!" Satoshi's eyes sparkled even more intensely. "He's going to ask him to testify."  
  
My heart stopped inside my chest.  
  
I started shaking uncontrollably.  
  
And broke down, and cried like a child.  
  
  
 **AIBA**  
  
When Jun showed me Sho's record, something in my mind woke up.  
  
Something that had been asleep for years and which existence I didn't know until that moment: a memory. The memory of a young guy, showing his tattoos with pride, his hair dyed of an orangish color, and a grim face, who asked me for my lighter eight years ago.  
  
"Does this face look familiar?" my friend asked.  
  
We were at my place, sitting on my couch.  
  
I looked at him, my eyes widened because of the surprise my own memories caused in me. It was as if seeing the picture of Sho fifteen years ago was the key to open a box that contained all the memories of that night. I could see them as clear as if I was living them again.  
  
I nodded right away, still feeling stunned.  
  
"You know him?" Jun fixed his eyes on me, showing an intense sparkle on them. "Aiba-chan, it's important. You could be the piece we need to prove Sho's innocence."  
  
I nodded again, pointing at the picture.  
  
"I can remember it clearly now," I started to say in a shaking voice. "I closed the shop that night, the same shop I work in now, and I bumped into him in an alley of Shinjuku. He asked me for my lighter, and we talked. I remember he caught my attention because of his different looks."  
  
"Go on," Jun looked at me as if what I was saying was fascinating. "Tell me what else happened that night, please."  
  
"While we talked, we heard screams that came from a smaller and darker alley, at the end of the alley we were in. Sho walked there, determinedly. I followed him trying to stop him, but he was faster. He entered that alley, and, when I caught up with him, he was struggling with a man who was holding a bloodstained knife in his hand. There was another man lying on the floor, over a puddle of blood, breathing heavily. Fear appalled me. I wanted to run away from there, but my legs didn't move. Then, Sho pushed the man holding the knife, who fell on me," I looked at Jun. "And that's where it ends. The next thing I can remember is waking up in the hospital. I didn't remember anything. Apparently, I hit my head when that man fell on me, and I suffered a temporary memory loss. I needed months of therapy to get my memories back. Or, well, I thought I got them back because I didn't remember any of this," I pointed at Sho's record in my hands, frowning.  
  
Jun jumped on his seat and firmly grabbed my arm.  
  
"Do you keep anything that certifies your memory loss?" he quickly asked, almost in a rush. "Any note you needed to give your boss or anything similar?"  
  
"Yes, of course, I do," I nodded right away. "I keep my psychologist's diagnosis, and the bills of every session I needed to undergo that year, as well as all the medical notes I needed to give my boss to be absent."  
  
My friend took my face between his hands and kissed my forehead.  
  
"I love you!" he exclaimed, ecstatic. "You're my favorite person."  
  
I chuckled.  
  
  
 **NINO**  
  
Aiba-chan had witnessed the crime?  
  
Who would have thought it?  
  
He was a box full of surprises.  
  
  
 **OHNO**  
  
Around six months passed since Jun talked to Aiba, and asked for a new trial until it took place. I couldn't believe the only witness who could prove Sho's innocence was by our side all that time. It was like a twist of fate. Or maybe it was a gift.  
  
During that time, I kept visiting Sho every month. In our conversations, he seemed to be surprised of not remembering Aiba-chan right away after the accident, but Jun said forgetting faces in stressful situations was pretty common. Besides, he added that Aiba-chan didn't have any feature that differentiated him from other young men at first sight.  
  
  
 **JUN**  
  
I prepared Sho's defense with great care.  
  
I even gave up some clients who wanted to hire my services.  
  
I needed as much time as I could gather.  
  
It wasn't just a matter of friendship, but justice.  
  
I wouldn't allow the execution of an innocent person.  
  
  
 **SHO**  
  
It was a long, hard and stressful trial.  
  
Very stressful.  
  
The district attorney attacked me mercilessly, trying to manipulate the judge by alleging to my complicated past as a teenager, and the time I spent on the run after the accident. There was a point in which I thought everything would go wrong. Fortunately, Aiba's testimony and the report he gave to prove his memory loss were crucial, and they declared me innocent.  
  
Innocent.  
  
After eight years waiting for my execution, everything ended.  
  
The day I left the detention center, I felt weird.  
  
On one hand, I felt ecstatic. Jun, Nino, Aiba, and Satoshi came to pick me up, and we went to have some pizza in the most expensive Italian restaurant in Tokyo, not just to celebrate my freedom, but also the excellent job Jun and Nino did during all those months, and the victory of justice. However, a part of me wasn't satisfied. They stole eight years of my life. Eight years no one could give me back. Eight years in which I didn't know when I would wake up for the last time. Was I supposed to continue with my life as if nothing happened?  
  
I took a look at my surroundings and watched those four guys.  
  
Especially, Satoshi.  
  
Thanks to being in jail, I took that plane and met them. I lost eight years of my life, but I won a family in exchange. A family who didn't share my blood, but my bond with them was just as strong. A family that took risks for me and blindly trusted my innocence since the very first moment.  
  
Crashing was our fate.


End file.
